Two Leaders of Standard Meat Company Serve on Salmonella Task Force
For Immediate Release 5/3/2021
Two Leaders of Standard Meat Company Serve on Salmonella Task Force
Dr. Ranzell “Nick” Nickelson and Jonathan Savell Provide Expertise to National Panel
(Fort Worth, Texas) – As a leading meat processor, DFW-based Standard Meat Company helps set the standard for quality and purity in the industry. As such, company leaders are called upon to help improve the state of the art in providing quality meat products to consumers.
The International Stockmen’s Educational Foundation (ISEF) has named a pair of experts affiliated with Standard Meat Company to a select panel to help the industry fight instances of salmonellosis in meat products. Dr. Nick Nickelson and Jonathan Savell, both food safety professionals with extensive experience in both academia and industry, serve on the ISEF Salmonella Blue Ribbon Task Force (SBRTF).
“The mission of the task force is to reduce the public health burden of salmonellosis attributed to animal proteins through the establishment and voluntary adoption of task force recommendations for managing Salmonella,” according to Bo Reagan, ISEF chair.
Ranzell Nickelson II, Ph.D. (Dr. Nick), is one of the nation’s foremost food safety experts and serves on Standard Meat’s Food Safety Advisory Council. His work was largely responsible for making Standard Meat an industry leader in meat quality and safety in the company’s day-to-day operations. Dr. Nick holds degrees in animal science, food technology, and microbiology from Texas A&M University, where he taught and researched food safety for 12 years.
Jonathan Savell is Standard Meat’s Senior Director of Food Safety, Quality, and Product Development. He has been with Standard Meat for more than 15 years, rising through the ranks while helping to ensure food safety. Savell is a graduate of Texas A&M University.
The work of SBRTF is critical because there are an estimated 1.4 million cases of salmonellosis each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Estimates are that 95 percent of such cases are related to foodborne causes. More than 200 out of every 1,000 Salmonella cases result in hospitalization, and eight of every 1,000 cases result in death. More than 30 percent of all food-related deaths are caused by Salmonella each year.
Ben Rosenthal, co-president and CEO of Standard Meat Company, said it is both an honor for the company and a critical responsibility. “We at Standard Meat understand the importance of food safety when handling animal protein products,” he said. “That is why we have Dr. Nick and Jonathan on board. They have made us a world leader in food safety.”
Ashli Rosenthal Blumenfeld, Standard Meat co-president, said the company is honored by the selection. “We are proud to share the talents of Dr. Nick and Jonathan with the entire industry,” she said. “There are no two better people in the industry to serve on the task force and we are lucky they are part of our team.”
Reagan noted that Dr. Nickelson served as the chair of the task force’s Risk Assessment group, which focused on developing recommendations regarding how best to develop effective risk assessment plans for addressing Salmonella.
“Jonathan served as a member of our Post Harvest Intervention Strategies group, which reviewed company-funded research focused on reducing the incidence of Salmonella in animal protein foods,” he said. “Jonathan’s group review of over 320 individual research projects has led to the development of an intervention guide aimed at reducing contamination levels of Salmonella. In addition, the work of these two individuals has been instrumental in the development of a Continuous Improvement document for addressing Salmonella.”
Reagan also expressed ISEF’s gratitude to Standard Meat Company’s support of the task force’s work.
About Standard Meat Company
Standard Meat Company is a multi-generational protein packaging and portioning company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. Founded in 1935, the innovative business serves a variety of foodservice needs from their four north Texas plants. Pioneers in steak cutting, Standard Meat Company is a recognized expert in meat science, food safety and quality assurance, culinary trends, purchasing, and packaging. For more information, visitwww.standardmeat.com.
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